First Appearance: Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer #1 (Apr. 1967)
Original Publisher: Lightning Comics
Created by: C. C. Beck and Otto Binder
Origin:
Multi-millionaire owner of a string of hobby shops, and the world’s leading expert on hobbies of all sorts, Van Crawford was out for a walk one day when he saw a flying saucer crash. Going to its aid, he discovered the saucer was really a shape-shifting alien.
To reward Van Crawford for helping him, the alien gave him a drink that Crawford thought tasted like a chocolate milkshake, it however was really the substance the race the alien belonged to used to turn into flying saucers.
Van Crawford found that now he too could transform the same way, devising a costume, and calling himself Fatman, he devoted himself to fighting evil.
Before long, he gained a side-kick in a teenager who, due to a magic spell, could coat himself in tin calling himself Tinman.
In his third and final appearance, he was briefly King of Octogonia, a position he bought for $25,000 (even though he thought he was buiying stamps).
Powers and Abilities:
When in flying saucer form, Van Crawford could fly faster than sound, fire force beams, travel underwater unaffected and deflect bullets.
When in his Van Crawford form he was remarkable agile and gymnastic and was able to use his girth as a weapon itself by doing things such as landing on adversaries after a triple forward flip or just hitting them with his belly. He could also communicate telepathically.
